Waiting is the Hardest Part
by JessiokaFroka
Summary: A small green-and-gold gift is under the tree; it reads: To Loki, From Darcy. The God of Mischief is fascinated and wary. One-Shot. Fluffy. Rated for language. Tasertricks - Loki/Darcy


**Waiting is the Hardest Part**

**Okay, can I just say that you guys fricken' rule?! Thanks for the awesome props, guys. I was really nervous to post this, but thanks to all of your encouragement I'll definitely continue writing. **

**This shit is un-beta'd. You've been warned.**

* * *

**Sunday**

Loki had heard of Christmas before. He had more recently seen people scurrying about in a mad manner in an attempt to find the _perfect_ offering for their _perfect_ friends and family. He had caught bits of conversation about an enormous red sorcerer who forcibly entered humans' homes in an attempt to leave trinkets and baubles instead of taking anything. In a small way he understood that the event was a tradition, albeit a ridiculous one. What he could not grasp, however, is why everyone from children to the very elderly lost their minds for nearly two months about one single day of their short, pointless year.

"It would be so much fun! We could drink and sing and exchange gifts and watch 'Elf!'" Darcy Lewis exclaimed as she and her astrophysicist companion Jane thundered noisily through the front door of the Avengers' mansion, breaking the rare silence of the living room. Bags of various shapes, sizes, and colors were hanging from their arms and snow was falling from their hair onto the hardwood floor. Loki glanced up at the two women from his armchair by the fireplace, immediately returning his gaze to the tome he had been poring over.

"I'm not sure about this bunch, Darce," Jane responded warily, "Can you imagine what Tony would be like after watching 'Elf'? He would run around calling everything 'ginormous' for the next six months. I don't know if I have the patience for that."

The two made their way through the living room and down the short hallway into the massive kitchen, tossing the spoils of their war with the mall crowds unceremoniously onto the counter. Loki was still able to clearly hear their conversation, annoyed that they would continue to be so loud even though he was obviously trying to concentrate.

Darcy happily rummaged through the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of cranberry juice. "Can you imagine everyone hammered on peppermint schnapps? And the combination of mistletoe and superpowers alone would make this party legendary. We should invite everyone, too- the agents, the techies, the temps, of course all of the Avengers, Loki-"

"Loki?!" Jane exclaimed in a panicked whisper, "Are you serious?!"

"Yeah, why not?" Darcy asked, lowering her voice as well. "He's helped the team a bunch of times and Nick's even let him out of his cage," After two years at the S. H. I. E. L. D. headquarters with no incidents, Director Fury allowed the God of Mischief to be transferred to a probationary location. Tony Stark convinced Fury that Loki would be kept under the watchful eyes of whole Avengers team (as well as the AI Jarvis) at his mansion where the rest of the team also resided. "I think it would be fun to see him in a purely social situation. Who knows? It could be good for him to get out of his shell a little bit."

Jane chewed on the idea for a moment. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt. It's not like we could have the party here and then _not_ invite him."

Darcy gave a triumphant smile. She raised her volume to normal again. "Exactly. So I'll get with Pepper and we can have the party, say Christmas Eve?"

"Sounds good," replied Jane. She gathered all of her shopping bags. "I'm going to drop these off in Thor's room and I'm headed to the office for the rest of the afternoon. Wanna come?"

"Nah, I'm pretty sure I'd rather gouge my own eyes out with a spoon than work on a weekend," replied Darcy cheerfully as she rummaged through her loot on the counter. "Plus ever since I started that new position I can't get that guy Jeremy to stop eye-raping my chest and ass. I am like two seconds away from punching him square in the jaw. Anything I can do to avoid being exposed to him more than I have to is a good thing in my book."

Jane blushed a little at Darcy's candor and left to go to Thor's rooms before Darcy could experiment with any more colorful phrases in her presence.

A few minutes later Darcy was busy mentally ticking off items from her Christmas shopping list when Tony Stark and Pepper Potts walked through the kitchen entryway drew her attention.

"Pepper," Darcy said, turning to the pair, "We should totally have a Christmas party."

"Yes we absolutely should," responded Pepper with a brilliant, perfect smile.

"What, don't I get a say?" asked Tony in a mock-innocent tone.

"Absolutely not," replied Pepper with the same dazzling grin.

"I was thinking Christmas Eve, this Saturday. We should invite _everyone_. This party is going to be legendary."

"Most events I attend end up being legendary," Tony chimed in.

Darcy rolled her eyes, looking to Pepper once more. She jerked a thumb toward Tony. "I _suppose_ we ought to invite him. It would be rude to talk about it in front of him, and have it at his house-"

"- and spend his money to make it happen-" Tony interjected in a high-pitched voice that was probably supposed to be his best impersonation of Darcy.

"- and spend his money to make it happen, and then not invite him," she finished, shooting an amused glare in his direction.

Pepper smiled in agreement and took out her trusty tablet, busily beginning the planning of what was sure to be one hell of a Christmas party. Tony turned his attention to the shiny objects on the counter.

"Ooh, did you get me something?" Tony asked as he began rifling through Darcy's shopping bags.

"You'll just have to wait until Christmas Eve like everyone else, sucker, " Darcy replied in a sing-song voice. "Luckily I got all of my presents wrapped at the mall before I got here, rendering your snooping useless."

Tony pouted as Darcy gathered up all of the wrapped packages, hauling them into the living room awkwardly due to the sheer volume of the gifts. A few of the packages slipped her grasp as she passed Loki who was still planted in the armchair. She knelt in front of the tree, placing the gifts artfully around its base. She craned her neck and head to face Loki, still kneeling.

"Little help, dude?" Darcy asked.

Loki looked down at the packages that had fallen for a moment. He sighed inwardly as he placed his open book face down on the arm of his chair, reaching for the shiny packages. He handed them to her.

"Thanks," she said, and she took all but one from him, placing the stragglers at the base of the tree as well.

"Oh hey, shake that one. That one's yours," she urged, gesturing with her eyes toward the small green-and-gold present in his left hand.

Loki eyed her warily and then looked at the package in his hand as though it was going to explode at any moment.

"What game is this?" he finally asked.

She stared at him for a moment. "What game...? You know, sometimes I forget that, even though you've been chillin' here on Earth for two years, you've been kept in a basement for most of it. You shake your present to see if you can guess what it is," Darcy picked up a red, white, and blue-wrapped gift that was clearly for Steve Rogers and gingerly shook it. The item within rattled.

He looked at the package in his hand and gave it a test shake. After he appeared to be satisfied that it probably wasn't a bomb, he shook it a little harder. He heard a metallic clanging come from within. He looked back up at her.

"Coins?"

"Sort of. I put pennies in it so you can't guess what it is," Darcy grinned. "But the gift isn't really pennies. It's just to throw you off." She held her hand out to take Loki's gift and, after he handed it to her, placed it beneath the tree with the others.

"Clever, but I could simply open the paper and look."

"That would be cheating. Besides, if you do that I'll know _and_ I'll return your gift after you find out how super awesome it is. So there."

Loki narrowed his eyes, glancing at the package again. "Were I to guess what lies within would you confirm it?"

"No way Jose," Darcy said, smiling. "I will neither confirm nor deny the contents. Anticipation is half the fun! You'll just have to wait and see. Oh, I don't know if you heard us in there, but," Darcy rose to her feet turning toward him, "we're going to have a wicked party here on Christmas Eve. You should totally come."

"Have I a choice?" Loki asked pointedly, clearly referring to his imprisonment. He picked up his book again and placed it on his lap.

Darcy placed a hand on her hip, looking down at him in his seated position. "Technically yes. You could stay in your room all night, I guess, but then you wouldn't be able to find out what's in the shiny little box. Must be present to win ya know."

Loki arched an eyebrow. "Are you lording that offering over me as bait to attend this event?"

"You got it!" She said with a mischievous smile, turning to leave the room. She kept talking as she left. "And it's not an offering. It's a present. Huge difference!" he heard her call from down the hallway.

Loki gazed into the fire for a few long moments. He couldn't help but feel irritated at the thought of spending what would have otherwise been a perfectly acceptable evening amongst the company of many people who hated him, or were nervous around him at least. The only person who didn't seem to object to his very presence was Darcy (and, to a lesser extent, Tony Stark). She was the only one who offered him coffee in the kitchen at the S. H. I. E. L. D. headquarters and had taken to regularly claiming the always-vacant seat next to him at the Avengers meetings. Her doodles of an enraged Nick Fury were hilarious, although Loki had not admitted it aloud.

He glanced toward the little green-and-gold package again. This was going to be a very long week.

x

X

x

**Monday**

"Hey, Lewis," came an oily voice from behind her in the company kitchen/break room. Darcy sighed, put the coffee pot and her mug down on the counter, and turned around to find that Jeremy Sanders had been, unsurprisingly, staring at her ass.

"Hey Jeremy." She responded shortly. He was now staring at her chest.

"I heard you're throwing a Christmas party," he started. She cringed inwardly. "Am I invited?"

"Of course, everyone here is. Didn't you get the invitation?" She asked in a forced bright tone. Pepper had sent the invitation to _everyone_ in the office before Darcy had remembered to ask her to take Jeremy off of the list.

He ran a hand through his flaming red hair, leaning with the other hand against the upper cabinet above the coffee pot and invading Darcy's personal space, "Yeah, but I just wanted to make sure, you know, because I heard that _you_ were the one throwing it, but I got the invitation in a mass e-mail from Stark's chick," he said with a huge grin. It seemed like he was having physical trouble maintaining eye contact.

"Yeah, well, mystery solved. It's kind of being thrown by us girls," she said, turning back to the coffee pot. The break room was usually full of other people and she felt awkward that it was completely devoid of life save for herself and, to a lesser extent, Jeremy.

"I hope there's mistletoe," he said, his voice even closer to her ear than before. She stiffened uncomfortably at his close proximity.

"Ahem," came a voice from the entryway. Loki strode over to Darcy purposefully with a dark look on his face, causing Jeremy to take a few steps backwards.

"Want some coffee?" She asked Loki quickly, giving him a look that clearly said 'thank you.'

"Please," Loki replied.

Jeremy stood there for a moment in silence, unsure of what to say. Loki shot him a menacing glare. Jeremy quickly muttered a "see you later" to Darcy before quickly bolting from the room. She visibly relaxed immediately.

"Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you," Darcy said as she heaved a sigh, handing Loki his coffee. "That guy creeps me out on so many levels."

He arched an eyebrow. "Why do you not report him? Or perhaps, 'punch him square in the jaw', as you put it?"

Darcy blushed as she realized he had heard her _whole_ conversation with Jane. "Um, because I just got this new position and I really, really don't want to fuck it up. It pays really well and I like my other co-workers. But thanks," she added hastily, looking up at him. She quickly changed the subject. "Do you have another guess?"

Loki contemplated the question for a moment. "You said you would neither confirm nor deny any attempts to discern the contents of the box."

"True, but it's fun for me when you guess wrong," she grinned, her eyes twinkling.

"Then I shall not grant you the satisfaction. Besides, as you said, anticipation is half the fun," he replied. He turned to leave the break room, coffee mug in hand. Darcy stared after him as he exited, a hint of a smile playing across his lips.

x

X

x

**Tuesday**

Loki stared at the little green-and-gold box. It mocked him.

It was late in the evening and he was sitting, once again, in his arm chair by the fireplace. He gazed at the tree with a look of deep concentration.

"Brother?" came a voice from the hallway. Thor entered the living room and took in the sight of his brother staring at the tree. "Brother, what ails you?"

Loki glanced up at his brother. "I cannot sleep. There has been a gift for me beneath this tree for two days and I am unable to determine its contents."

A grin broke out across Thor's face, "Loki, it is a Midgardian custom. Each year they give and receive gifts which should not be opened until Christmas. Who is it from?"

"Darcy Lewis."

"Darcy, eh? She fancies you, you know," Thor told him. Loki froze. Thor plunked himself down on the sofa across from Loki.

"_No one_ fancies me, brother," Loki spat, looking warily into the fire, "Least of all a mortal whose realm I tried to seize."

"You underestimate her compassion and intelligence, brother. She seems to see you for who you are and not for who you had been for one brief moment in your long life. Besides, if she willingly sits with you during those horrid meetings and buys you presents at Christmas that must be worth a drink at least. Have you considered courting her?"

Loki blushed and his facial features stiffened as he drew in a breath, "I wish not to discuss this matter."

Thor contemplated his brother for a moment, realizing that he was clearly making Loki uncomfortable. "Well, if you should ever need me, I am here for you," he said. He picked up the green-and-gold gift and shook it. "Ah, pennies," he said, and after a moment of silence, "You should get her something as well."

Loki looked up at Thor. He should have thought of that. If one point came from this seemingly meaningless tradition it was that you were obligated to give offerings to those whose company you found to be tolerable. Darcy fit the description.

"What would be fitting for a lady such as Darcy?" Loki wondered aloud to himself.

"Jane seems to enjoy clothing and jewelry. However, I cannot imagine that the Lady Darcy would be thrilled with such an offering."

"Nor can I. I must consider this carefully."

Thor gave Loki a sideways look. "I'm certain that whatever you choose will be fine. It's not as though your entire chances with her hinge upon this one event, right?" He added with a grin, actively trying to make his brother anxious.

Loki felt the blood drain from his face and Thor burst into a thunderous laughter, getting up and making his way toward the hallway. "You'll be fine, brother!"

Loki was still in deep concentration in the arm chair hours later when the fire finally died out.

x

X

x

**Wednesday**

"Do I make myself clear?" Nick Fury demanded at the team of heroes (and agents, and assistants). He stood at the front of a stark white room, facing all of the other occupants. You could hear a pin drop after he finished his question.

Finally, a stifled giggle broke the absolute silence of the room. All eyes, including the one bulging eye of Fury's, landed on the pair at the very back of the room. Darcy blushed furiously and Loki had on a straight face that would shame a world-class poker player.

"Is something amusing, Miss Lewis?" Nick asked. "Do you find it funny that this team is beginning to become a hindrance rather than a help to the world? Because this is some serious shit we're discussing in here."

Darcy took a deep breath and felt the heat leave her cheeks. She cleared her throat. "I was just, um, I... I had an itch. Sorry," she stammered lamely.

Nick stared at her for a moment longer than necessary, making the entire room uncomfortable. He went back to droning on about working as equals and looking out for the team.

When all eyes were no longer on them, Darcy looked down at her notepad again and it took all she was worth to not burst out giggling again. She had originally doodled her normal Nick Fury with his huge eye and a comically enlarged vein popping out of his forehead but hadn't gotten to the body yet. Before the interruption had occurred Darcy would look up from her drawing every now and again to look like she was paying attention. What caused her little outburst, however, was that when she looked back down to the drawing she saw that Nick suddenly had quite the voluptuous body, complete with Slave-Leia bikini and shackles.

She grinned at Loki, who simply kept his gaze trained on Nick at the front of the room and did not acknowledge her. Darcy scribbled furiously on her notepad in her scrawling, loopy handwriting.

_Who knew you'd seen Star Wars? Good likeness, but he needs bigger boobs._

She set her notepad down on the table in front of her, finally paying attention to the meeting. She glanced back down a few minutes later to find that words in a elegant, spiky handwriting had appeared on the page.

_**You will find that I am quite full of surprises, Miss Lewis. 'Prince of Mischief' and all that. I think his breasts are already quite fetching.**_

The corner of her mouth twitched as she suppressed her smile.

_No but seriously. When the hell did you see Star Wars?_

_**S. H. I. E. L. D. has an impressive library. What do you imagine I kept myself occupied with for two years?**_

_Ah._ She wrote. She played with her pen for a moment as she stared thoughtfully at the front of the room. She continued writing._ For a limited time only, I will tell you if you can correctly guess your gift._

More words appeared on her notepad. _**And what has spurred such a streak of generosity?**_

_Boredom._

_**That is dangerous.**_

_You know me, living life on the edge, one day in my cubicle at a time._

Loki looked thoughtful for a moment. _**Is it socks?**_

_What a lame gift! Why would I give you socks?_

_**So no socks, then.**_

_No. And be serious, or I'll rescind my generous offer._

_**This game transcends logic. I have lived for thousands of years; I can wait for three more days.**_

_Waiting is the hardest part. Are you sure? Because this is the final time you will have this opportunity. This year, at least._

He drew an imperceptible intake of breath. Did she mean she intended to be around him for this godforsaken holiday next year as well? His heart skipped a beat as his stomach dropped to the floor. He reigned in his emotions and regained his composure in less than a second, chiding himself for daring to hope that something so lofty would happen for him.

_**Is it... a scarf?**_

_You suck at this game._

x

X

x

**Thursday**

Loki, Thor, and Tony dragged themselves into the family room at 9 PM, all bleeding, bruised, and clearly weary. Darcy and Jane looked up from the television at the heroes; they could hear the rest of the team mates disbursing to various parts of the mansion.

"Awwww, poor babies!" Darcy exclaimed as she jumped up to grab the first aid kit, which garnered a pitiful, pouty look from Tony.

"Oh dear. Guys, sit down. I'll get you some water. Are you all okay?" Jane asked. All three men collapsed onto the sectional and closed their eyes, Thor heaved a mighty sigh.

"Tough day, huh?" Darcy asked as she came back into the room hauling a large professional first aid kit. "Did you win?"

"We crushed them," Loki's weary voice came from under his hand, which had been resting across his face. Jane handed all three water bottles while Darcy assessed wounds. She looked up at the Asgardians when she realized that they only had splotches of thick blood on their clothing but no wounds at all.

"You two are fine, you big babies," Darcy mused at Thor and Loki.

"They weren't. But they heal, cupcake," Tony grunted, taking a tired swig from his water bottle. "I, on the other hand, could use some attention," he said, giving a roguish grin and waggling his eyebrows suggestively despite the blood dripping from a nasty cut on his forehead.

"Attend to yourself, cupcake," Darcy smiled and tossed the kit to him. Jane grinned at the pair. They had a love-hate relationship and deeply cared for one another in a brother-and-sister sort of way. Tony looked at the first aid kit on his lap and leaned his head back against the couch cushions, ignoring it.

"Oh, fine," Darcy gave in. She grabbed the first aid kit from his lap and started cleaning the gash. "Shouldn't Pepper be doing this?"

"Pepper is occupied with planning the Most Legendary Christmas Party," Tony replied, wincing when Darcy applied alcohol to sterilize the wound. Jane was sitting next to Thor, whispering gently into his ear. Thor looked so relaxed he would probably be asleep soon, filling the room with his deafening snores. Jane realized that they were about thirty seconds from having to wake a sleeping god, so she helped haul Thor to his feet and led him out of the room toward his quarters.

Tony looked over at Loki who looked to have fallen asleep already. He turned back to Darcy, who was finishing putting butterfly sutures onto his wound.

"Well, kid, I'm out too. Goodnight," he said to her. "You might want to help our friend here, he's beat. He saved our asses today." With that Tony, too, left the room, leaving Darcy and Loki in the family room.

Darcy looked over at Loki. She took the sight of him in- eyes closed, armor torn, smudged with dirt from head to toe and disheveled hair to boot. He looked so peaceful and unguarded. It was a rare look at what was once a loathed villain whom she now considered to be a somewhat-friend.

"Loki," she called to him gently. He didn't respond in the slightest. "Loookiiiiiii," she crooned a little louder. Not even a flicker of a response. "Hey magic dude!" she said even louder, slightly louder than her indoor-voice. He didn't move.

She picked up a throw pillow from the couch and hit him lightly with it.

His eyes snapped open and suddenly his hand was around her throat, a snarl tearing from his lips. It took him a few seconds to recognize that there was no danger, and, at the same time, he came to the startling realization that he had Darcy pinned to the couch as he leaned over her form. Her face was turning red and her eyes had grown wide. He instantly released her throat and she took in a huge gasp of air, coughing and sputtering.

"Darcy, I.. I... I apologize," he started, quickly helping her to a sitting position and handing her his water bottle. He regained his composure just as quickly and leaned back into the couch, but his own breathing was still ragged from the day's trials.

"Not much of a morning person, are you?" Darcy choked out, taking a swig of water and massaging her throat. "To be fair I probably shouldn't have tried to wake a sleeping god, but you need to get to bed. Do you need help?" she asked, taking wheezing breaths.

"I have no need of assistance from a mortal woman," he sniffed, obviously having gotten over the embarrassment of practically killing Darcy. Darcy looked stung by his condescension. He began to rise to his feet and faltered, clearly having trouble.

"Yeah, whatever," Darcy hissed at him as she got off of the couch, slinging his left arm over her shoulder and her own right arm along his back. "Shut your hole and let's get moving."

He stood still for only a moment, then heaved a great sigh and leaned some of his weight onto her. Step by step they made it down the hallway, and up the treacherous stairs and finally ended their journey at the door to Loki's room. At this point Loki was leaning onto her heavily. Darcy started to reach for the door knob when Loki grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"No," he breathed heavily. He closed his eyes, moving his lips as his brow creased in deep concentration. After only a few seconds the door swung itself open, allowing them access. She helped him to his bed, where he sat for a moment as she took in the lavishly decorated room.

"Swanky digs, your majesty," she told him, a half-smile forming. "Are you all right? Because I charge extra for clothing removal."

He was too exhausted to even blush at her comment. "I shall be fine. Good night, Darcy."

"'Night."

She closed the door behind herself. That was not exactly how she anticipated ending up in Loki's room for the first time, but it was a start.

x

X

x

**Friday**

"You're getting her a lump of coal?!" Tony exclaimed. Loki held a black mass in his hand.

"Not just a lump of coal, but as far as you're concerned, yes," Loki replied haughtily. "Now do you have any supplies with which to wrap this offering or not?"

Tony looked warily at Loki. "What is it, then?"

Loki gave him an icy glare.

"Tell me or I won't reveal my impressive collection of wrapping supplies," Tony continued.

Loki pondered the choices for a moment. "You and the lady Darcy are friends, correct?"

"We are."

"And she is not like most other mortal women."

"Right you are," Tony replied.

"So it would not do to simply offer her trinkets that she would not appreciate, correct?" Loki lifted the black lump to eye level.

"I'm not sure I know where this is headed, but go on."

"This object is no coal. I have made it to look as such, but it is not. It is a Phoenix Rose, native to my own home of Asgard. Ten seconds after the lady Darcy touches the object it will turn into a gilded flower the likes of which mortals have never seen. And it will die, and sprout, and continue to bloom, on its own, for eternity."

Tony stared at it for a moment. "Okay, you're gonna need to give that to her in private."

Loki blinked. "Why?"

"Because I don't want to be there when she right-hooks you for giving her a lump of coal for Christmas. Also because ten seconds later you're gonna make the rest of us look bad."

Loki smirked. "That was my intention. And what kind of mischief god would I be if I did not play a harmless trick?" Tony rolled his eyes.

"While I'm convinced you've changed your spots, I'd hate to see her get all strung out over you. You better mean this. You break her heart and I'll break your face," Tony gave him a hard look. "That's a pretty good trick though," Tony admitted.

"While I would relish the opportunity to see your attempts to break my face, and I feel that I owe no man an explanation for my actions, know this: the lady Darcy has somewhat given me faith for the rest of your race, and to an extent faith in my own self. I do not intend to see her harmed."

"Good," Tony replied. He picked up his cell phone and punched in a number. "Pepper. Where are the wrapping supplies?" He looked up at Loki nervously. "Oh, really? Well damn."

He hung up his phone and looked at Loki. "Turns out we don't have any. Pepper has all of our gifts wrapped at the mall. I just kind of figured she would keep that sort of thing on hand, you know?"

Loki arched an annoyed eyebrow. "'Impressive collection of wrapping supplies', I see."

"But hey, on the plus side, I'm now in the know about your little crush on our resident nerd girl," Tony said with a bright grin.

"Indeed."

x

X

x

**Saturday**

The party was in full swing by the time Darcy strutted into the Avengers mansion, rocking a haltered, backless little black dress and some strappy stilettos. Her hair was in an up-do with curly tendrils hanging down to the base of her neck.

She took in the scene around her. It was odd to see all of her co-workers gathered in one area (even though it was a mansion, a _lot_ of people worked in their little nondescript building.) Everyone was relaxed and happy and, for once, no one seemed to be discussing work. All of the attendees were holding a drink and the smell of catered food wafted through every room. She could hear music coming from the ballroom in the middle of the house. Darcy took all of this in in a matter of moments when she realized that everyone in the room was looking at her. She looked around her uncomfortably and made her way through the crowd toward the kitchen.

She found Jane, Thor, Bruce, and Natasha chatting near piles of desserts on the counter tops. Jane looked positively regal in a long gold dress while Natasha looked like sex personified in a deep red gown. The neckline of the thin fabric plunged all the way to her naval. Bruce looked great in his black tuxedo and Thor was in his customary Asgardian armored regalia.

When they noticed her they immediately stopped talking and every single one of them looked guilty as sin. Darcy narrowed her eyes at the bunch.

"What?"

They were all silent, and Jane finally cleared her throat. "You want to go get a drink? Pepper hired a whole team of bartenders and the open bar is in the ballroom," she said brightly.

Darcy hardly let Jane finish her sentence before she blurted out with a grin, "You had me at 'open bar'."

The pair made their way toward the west portion of the gigantic home. When people in the halls caught sight of Darcy they would either turn red, start giggling, or quickly duck their heads to turn away. "What the hell is going on? Am I having a wardrobe malfunction or something?" Darcy whispered furiously to Jane as she looked down at her dress.

Nope, still looking smokin' hot, she thought to herself.

Jane looked jittery. "I'll tell you in a minute, okay?"

She and Darcy approached the bar and ordered cocktails. They nibbled on tray-passed finger foods as they waited for their drinks.

"Can you please tell me? I'm feeling pretty exposed here and I haven't even had a shot yet," Darcy joked, attempted to ease her nerves. This was a big night for her in a lot of ways.

"I wanted to bring this up to you after you had a little bit of liquor in your system, but, um... Did you have a change of heart about that Jeremy guy?" Jane asked tentatively.

Darcy stared for a moment. "Not at all. He's still a super-creeper."

"I don't know how to tell you this except to just come out and say it..." Jane started. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I think he might be on something. Took something before he got here, you know? But since the moment he got here he has been telling everyone, in great detail and loudly, how you two hooked up. And when I say great detail, I mean _great _detail. Apparently he has quite an imagination. And," she continued as the bartenders handed them their cocktails, "he's been saying that you practically begged him to sleep with you."

Darcy grew pale as her mouth dropped open. She held that shocked expression for a full five seconds before shouting, "What in the blue fuck?!"

Jane jumped and all conversation stopped at Darcy's outburst, and she had a crowd of several hundred of her co-workers gawking at her. She began shaking silently with anger.

"Darcy, Darcy, drink something. Please," Jane begged. Darcy lifted her glass to her lips but couldn't take a drink she was shaking so badly.

"Where is he? Where is he?" Darcy demanded, setting her drink down and sloshing its contents onto the bar.

Jane's eyes widened. "Don't go running after that jerk."

"Everyone thinks I'm a _slut_, Jane. A ginger-loving slut," she snapped.

"No one thinks that you're a slut, Darce."

"Jane, everyone is staring at me. I'm going to go find that son of a bitch."

Before Jane could do anything about it Darcy stormed off to find Jeremy.

Darcy made her way through the crowds, giving thin, tight-lipped smiles to colleagues whom she recognized and continued to search relentlessly for the flaming-haired liar. She heard a couple of cat-calls and whistles as she passed groups of men and she shuddered, disgusted at the unwanted attention. She looked into every room she passed on the main floor and then headed up the marble stairs.

Darcy saw no one on the second floor and the noise of the party-goers didn't reach the east side of the house near the bedrooms. Everyone was down in the common areas. At the end of the familiar hallway lined with bedroom doors Darcy spotted a balcony with an open glass door leading to it and headed for it. She was upset and hot from speed-walking through a 16,000-square foot mansion, and she was pretty sure she was about to cry.

She stepped out into the chilly night air. The first thing she noticed was the stars, the second thing she noticed was a drunken, swaying Jeremy who was finishing relieving himself over the railing of the balcony. She froze, her expression hardening. She was definitely not going to cry because of this asshole.

He zipped up his pants and she marched over to him, asking in a low, dangerous voice, "Why the fuck have you been telling people we fucked?"

He had the nerve to look confused as her turned his head toward her, his heavy-lidded gaze lingering greedily on her assets. "People talk, sweetheart. I can't control what they want to say about you and me." He grinned and took a few wobbly steps her way. Darcy held her ground.

"You and me? You and me? _There is no you and me_. You have been drooling all over me since I came into this new position, and-"

"New position?" Jeremy laughed, taking a step toward her. She took an automatic step back. "We can try any position you want, babe," he breathed, reaching out and running the back of his hand sloppily down her arm. She gave an involuntary shudder and a chill of fear shot through her.

"That's it," Darcy said with a hard expression as she fumbled with her bag. She reached in for her trusty taser and grabbed hold of it, shooting him with it. The prongs stuck into his chest and he went down hard, slamming his face into the door frame, knocking him out cold. Darcy gave a little shriek and jumped backwards into the hallway. She saw a figure from her peripheral view and gasped, nerves already on high alert.

Loki was exiting his bedroom and caught sight of Darcy. He shot her a confused look at her shocked expression and his eyes caught sight of the body at her feet. He took three long strides and was upon her, placing a gentle hand on each of her shoulders.

"Did he harm you?" He asked quietly.

"No," she replied in a weak voice, unable to take her eyes from his.

"Good."

They left him, bleeding and unconscious. Her offered her his arm and she gladly took it as her led her down the hallway, down the marble staircase, and back to the party. While the crowds were looking at the pair, they did not seem to be staring at them for the same reason. No one blushed or giggled when Darcy passed.

The pair grabbed a couple of glasses of champagne on their way to the ballroom where they found Thor and Jane. Thor met them with an anxious look on his face.

"Darcy, Jane amended the horrible rumor while you were away, and the excitement has died," he started and Jane grinned, then took in the sight of the pair, "Did something happen?"

Loki caught sight of Agent Coulson who was passing by. "There is an unconscious man on the balcony near our sleeping quarters," he said, garnering a wide-eyed stare from both Thor and Jane.

Agent Coulson nodded, unfazed, placing a hand to his ear and speaking quietly. After a moment he gave an affirmative and smiled at Loki. "It's taken care of," he confirmed and he continued on his way. Loki remained quiet.

"What?" Jane asked.

Darcy grinned. "I kind of tased Jeremy."

Thor gave a booming laugh, garnering the attention from half of the room. Tony and Pepper made their way over to the two couples with quizzical looks.

"That rumor wasn't true, was it?" Tony blurted out at Darcy. Pepper gave him a smack on his arm and Loki looked confused.

"What rumor?" Loki asked.

"You missed all of the fun while you were primping," Tony grinned. Loki gave him a death glare. "That Jeremy guy was running around telling everyone that he and Darcy did the horizontal tango together."

"What dance is this?" Thor asked Jane. Jane, looking demure, had Thor lean down so she could whisper into his ear. Thor gave a wide, knowing smile.

"Which we didn't. Ever," Darcy said. Loki seemed to relax, but no one took notice. "Like I was telling these two," she gestured toward Jane and Thor, "I tased his happy ass." She took a triumphant drink of her champagne.

Pepper's eyes looked like they were going to jump out of her skull.

"It's cool, Pepper. Coulson's on it," Darcy assured her. Tony was laughing, which caused Thor to start laughing again, and suddenly everyone in the group was giggling with the exception of Loki. Darcy noticed and looked to him.

"Let's go get something to eat, okay?"

"As you wish," Loki responded. Her heart skipped a beat and, as they left, she saw Thor shooting her a toothy smile while Tony winked at the pair.

They found a table toward the edge of the ballroom and a waiter came over to take their orders. After they ordered and their waiter left, Darcy looked at Loki.

"Are you all right? You don't seem to be your normal chatty, chipper self," she joked.

He was silent for a moment. "What if you had not had possession of your taser?" he asked quietly.

Darcy was stunned for a moment. "It probably would have been pretty bad, actually," she thought aloud.

He cringed visibly. He took in a deep breath and sat silent for a moment. Loki finally spoke.

"You need protection."

She let out a burst of laughter at him, which took him by surprise. "I'm fine, dude. I'm a big strong girl, I tie my own sandals and everything," she mused as she shot him a dazzling smile. Loki's jaw tightened and he was clearly was not amused, but he let the subject drop.

Their meal came and they ate in a companionable silence. When they were done, Darcy looked up at him gleefully.

"Do you want to go get your present?" She asked. He nodded at her and they made their way to the living room, Darcy picked up the little green-and-gold box and slipped it into his hand. "Go on, open it!" she urged.

"I have something for you as well. Might I suggest we go somewhere more private to exchange offerings?" Loki suggested. Darcy have a little squeal of delight and grabbed his arm.

"I am yours to lead, my lord," Darcy flirted playfully. Loki's eyes glittered wickedly but he stayed silent. He led her up the marble stairs and down the hallway of bedroom doors.

"Shall we go out on the balcony? Perhaps we can make some better memories there," he suggested. They made their way out onto the balcony, noting that there was not one single trace of Jeremy to be found. They stepped out and Loki closed the doors behind them.

Darcy pulled the little green-and-gold box out of her purse and handed it to him. He looked at and drew in a deep breath.

"It's not going to bite you! Hurry up, it's freezing out here!" She said, shivering and wrapping her arms around herself. Loki removed his cloak and wrapped it around her. She accepted it gratefully and looked at him pointedly.

Loki worked the golden string off of the box. He then worked his way through the green paper to find a hard plastic box, which encased a curious little black square and little black circle contained within a bright green rectangle. He heard the pennies fall to the ground, but he paid them no mind. He examined the object quizzically.

"I'm afraid I don't know what it is," he admitted.

"It's an iPod!" she exclaimed. Her eyes were bright and her grin was from ear to ear. "You're always in the living room trying to read and everyone is so noisy. You can listen to this and drown out the rest of the world," she explained. "And there's a music card in there so you can load it with whatever you want."

"It's perfect," he said, looking down at it for a moment, and back up at Darcy.

Loki gazed at her and she looked back at him in silence. Their breath hung in the chilly night air.

"You are all I can think about," Loki told her quietly.

Darcy drew a breath and felt her heart leap into her throat.

He continued, "It is maddening, having someone fill your thoughts constantly."

"I know the feeling," she said, stepping toward him.

Darcy tilted her head upward pressed her lips to Loki's; he instantly kissed her back and wrapped himself in her arms. In that one moment, everything in the world was right. His kisses grew more intense with each passing second, and Darcy could feel herself becoming heated from head to toe. She slowed down their pace, nibbling at his lower lip. After a few breathless moments they broke away, smiling, still in one another's arms.

"That was one hell of an offering," Darcy laughed breathlessly.

Loki's eyes widened. "Your gift!" he remembered. A black box with a purple ribbon and bow appeared in his hand and he handed it to her.

"Aw, you didn't have to get me anything!" She told him, "Who am I kidding? You totally did."

She ripped at the paper of the box and hurriedly opened it, looking inside. She dumped the contents into her hand.

"You got me coal?!" she shouted with a grin, smacking his arm, and then laughed, "What the hell?"

"I have heard that it is customary to give to those who are naughty. I am simply attempting to properly assimilate," he informed her.

Darcy snorted. "You have _no_ idea how naughty I can be, Loki Odinson. I have a few tricks of my own, you know. Oh!" she exclaimed as the bit of black in her hand began to shake. She almost dropped it, but held on. "Um," she said apprehensively at Loki. He just looked at her with an amused smirk.

The tiniest gold fleck appeared on the surface of the coal and bit by bit it grew larger. The coal began to crumble as the gold overtook the blackness until nothing was left but a single, perfect golden rose.

"It's perfect," she breathed, examining the flower with wonder.

"It is a Phoenix Flower from my home world. It will last for eternity," he told her.

She turned her head toward him. "Oh, you're _good_," she mused.

"Darcy, you have _no_ idea how good I can be. Come," he said, wrapping her even more tightly in his arms and opening the balcony door for her. "Let us go inside. You are of no use to me frozen."

She smiled to herself. "Merry Christmas, Loki," she told him.

"Merry Christmas, Darcy."

* * *

**Thanks for reading my very first _ever_ Loki/Darcy. I have read so much but I felt it was time to contribute something of my own. I'm fairly certain I will be posting more.**

**A nod to Disney's _Hercules_: "I'm a big strong girl, I tie my own sandals and everything," is a line from Megara.**

**Please please please review!**


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